William Beavers indicted on tax fraud charges

At the time, Beavers acknowledged pocketing the county expense money to boost his income until his actions gained media attention in late 2008. He said then that he had "paid taxes" on the added income.

"If politicians choose to use their campaign funds for personal use then they, like all the citizens they serve, share the obligation to honestly report their income and pay the correct amount of taxes," Fitzgerald said.

"The indictment alleges that over a course of three years, Commissioner Beavers repeatedly used his campaign accounts for personal use and then thwarted the Internal Revenue Service by causing his campaign committees to create false records to cover it up," Fitzgerald said.

State law allows politicians who had long-standing campaign funds to be able to tap them for personal use up to the amount they contained as of June 30, 1998 — as long as they pay taxes. No rules had prohibited the conversion of the county expense funds to personal use by county commissioners.

Beavers, who represented the 7th Ward in the Chicago City Council from 1983 until he took his seat on the Cook County Board a month after his election in November 2006, always prided himself on appearing impeccably dressed.

His height, his deep Pall Mall-enhanced voice and the 21 years he served as a police officer before entering elective politics combined to help create a style that was often imposing — if not intimidating and arrogant.

As newer politicians recognized the need for serving their tax-strained constituents and for ethics reforms in a county government bloated by wasteful spending, Beavers battled back. He wistfully wished for a return to the days when patronage was a controlling force in commanding loyalty.

To tout his political power, Beavers often promoted himself as the "hog with the big nuts."

After serving as Todd Stroger's floor leader on the County Board, defending a controversial sales tax increase, Beavers has had frequent run-ins with Stroger's successor, County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Preckwinkle pushed to roll back the sales tax hike and, in November, Beavers was the board's lone "no" vote on her county budget.

U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley, a North Side Democrat and former County Board commissioner who repeatedly clashed with Beavers on reform efforts, had little to say about the indictment.

"It hurts everyone," he said of the latest public corruption charge filed in Chicago. "It's hard to lead without the public's trust."

Commissioner Larry Suffredin made it clear that Beavers clashed with Daley from the day Beavers joined the County Board.

Suffredin, of Evanston, said Beavers has consistently shown "disdain" for Daley and is constantly "picking fights with him."

Beavers, he added, always chafed when other commissioners advocated changing the rules for use of the expense accounts.

"He was the one who told us when we raised these issues (that) it was none of our business," Suffredin said.